My False Start

(Editor’s note: written Thursday, couldn’t be published until Friday, lest the boys find out that I arrived two days early.) 

I’ve always anticipated that the three of us would be stepping on each other’s toes because we’re all in the market for the same kind of vehicle. So I decided the most practical course of action would be to enter a false itinerary into TripIt and go quietly two days early.

Despite having arrived in Sacramento in secret late Wednesday evening, I still had work Thursday. So I got up at 7, choked down half a cup of monumentally bad coffee, and got to work. But if I’m honest, my heart was elsewhere. Perhaps the brightest spot of Pacific Daylight Time is that the office is two hours ahead of me, so I had plenty of time after work to get started on my mission.

Despite my enthusiasm for a Jeep Wrangler with no doors in a previous post, upon further consideration, driving through a dusty desert in a car without walls seems unappealing. So I’ve shifted my focus to 4Runners and Cherokees, both of which I’ve always had a soft spot for. With a list of three in a region just north of Sacramento, I set off in my little Rental Chariot.

The Black Grand Cherokee of Roseville

Roseville has a strange neighborhood of about a dozen small used car dealers along what looks like a square that longed to one day become a bona fide boardwalk. It is not. In the center was this perky Grand Cherokee.

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I spoke briefly to the salesman, but he left me about my business to poke around. It’s a pretty good looking vehicle in most respects. There’s some damage to the back gate around the window which doesn’t bother me much. I didn’t ask to test-drive or really dive in under the hood. I honestly hadn’t expected to like this vehicle, but it did seem pretty fun. I’m still holding out hope that I won’t have to deal with a dealership, though.

Josh with the Red 95 4Runner

I took a caffeine break at the 7-Eleven next door to check in with the boys (who still think I’m in Austin) and make some calls. I was excited about the Red 4Runner because it seemed to be in the best shape, but it is also stoutly over-budget. I found out that he was working late tonight and wouldn’t be able to see me until tomorrow. I had a couple more options on my list in this part of town, so I drove to a nearby park where I could stop for a little longer and try to set something up. I found out that several more of my options had already sold, but I did have one promising conversation:

Grey 92 4Runner in Citrus Grove

The other 4Runner I pulled from Craigslist was much less expensive. The ad was light on detail, the only thing I didn’t particularly like was that it’s grey. I put in a call and the guy was willing to show it to me in short order. He sent me his address. Then he said that his brother would be there but that he was on his way.

I did a slow drive-by of the vehicle because it was parked on the street, and from a distance it looked good. So I parked down the block and walked over.

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I remain unclear as to whether I met the seller or the brother, but was given a key and told to go poke around while he smoked on the porch. For a vehicle he said had been sitting for some days, it sure was warm enough to indicate that it had recently been running at least at an idle. Everything under the hood looked at least okay, coolant was full and clean, but oil was very low. Something just felt a little off. There were mild to moderate rust spots on the body, but not the frame. There was no spare tire, and the tires on the vehicle were in terrible shape—one was flat—even though I anticipated replacing tires, these were undrivably bad. Also, there’s no flap over the gas tank, which is an easy junkyard find, but one of those things I saw and thought, “yep, that seems about right here.”

Then I discovered my first true red flag. The key, the only key I’m told, is a very worn Home Depot key-copy key, and it doesn’t fit any of the doors, only the ignition. There is no other key, he just never locks the doors. “Used car stuff, ya know?” he explained. Also, the driver door and rear gate have both had their locks smashed. This, of course, means there is also no way to open the back gate, though its window does roll down. Half-way.

Getting inside, the steering and the clutch felt like they would be okay, but shifting through the transmission was like stirring a big ol’ pot of gear soup. Ultimately, I had a good conversation with the guy, but I told him I had another vehicle to see tomorrow and took off. I didn’t particularl want to test drive it.

George’s Red Jeep Cherokee 

Yes, our George. Getting back in my car after Grey-no-Locks, I was a little disappointed. So I decided to cheer myself up with some good old fashioned subterfuge. George had located the perfect red Jeep Cherokee and was stupidly talking about it in the group chat. Providence! And it was conveniently located about half way back to my little extended stay hovel.

I put in a call to “Diana” (from the ad) who turned out to be a bewildered gentleman who was insistent that he had just spoken to me and that I had said I wouldn’t be available to see the vehicle until Saturday. Gee, I wonder who that could be. I did worry for the vehicle that he couldn’t conceive of multiple callers for it, but after we untangled the confusion, he invited me over.

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Photo borrowed from the ad, because:

I arrived at the house. The vehicle was not at the house. The gentleman from the call  greeted me and said that the Jeep was being used to transport someone either to or from the nearby hospital. (How could that have been a point of uncertainty?) Then he asked, “did she tell you what happened with the vehicle?” … “No…?” Nor had I spoken with anyone else.

Apparently, it had been in a rear-end collision this morning, which would have been useful information to have received on the phone, but clearly the vehicle was still operable because it was at the Emergency Room. He wasn’t sure the extent of the damage, so he offered to sell me the station wagon that was idling in the driveway. When I passed on that marvelous opportunity, he instructed his grandson to take my number and they would call me when the Jeep returned. They offered to let me wait with them, but I didn’t want to impose.

Sightseeing

So while I did get a head start today, I didn’t get anything for my troubles, so I meandered my way home.

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I stopped by the Tower Bridge, the first drawbridge I think I’ve seen in person. Then I stopped by the California State Capitol which reminded me that everything’s bigger in Texas.

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Friday should be an interesting day. I hope to secure a vehicle before the boys arrive, but that’s a tall order. Whatever I do, I have to be back at the airport by 7pm, pretending that I’ve just arrived.